Dear Access Community,
As a member of the Emerson Class of 2020, I never would have imagined that being among the first to graduate in the new decade would be one of the worst departures ever. I can still remember sitting at my computer in my Career Pathways class as a Junior at Horseheads High School in 2014, looking up Emerson College for the first time, and six years later, here I am holding a degree from the very same place. I knew my time here would be short since I transferred in with 3 years of community college behind me, so I told myself to make the best of it. When I think back to reflect on the past two years I spent at Emerson, I have to ask myself what I truly accomplished. There is no better answer to that question than being the Co-Founder/Co-President of Access: Disability Union.
In my first year, I felt kind of out of place, as if people could tell I was different but they made no attempt to understand, just write me off as some weirdo who got past security somehow. At the same time, there were plenty of measures taken among the student body to increase awareness of diversity amongst the student body, but none for people with disabilities. I wondered why that was. Why am I viewed only as a straight white male, but not for the identity that makes me unique? Why is everyone constantly checking their privilege as white people and non-LGBT, but nobody ever stops to think that maybe that girl in their class isn’t a creep, she is just unaware of her actions because her brain doesn’t process as fast? These are the conversations I wanted to see start, and that is what enabled me to spring into action.
As you can imagine, SEAL was on board, SAS was on board, and they pointed me to another individual, also on the spectrum, who just so happened to be the Accessibility Commissioner for SGA, Harper Mckenzie. She just so happened to also have the same goal as me to start up a community for students with disabilities. From the moment we started working, we became partners in crime for disability advocacy and began to form the group that would become Access. We spent the first semester in Fall 2019 gathering other interested members and trying to decide who we were, what we were going to do, and what we would be called. Finally, Access: Student Disability Union officially formed for the Spring 2020 semester. While the team has only been together for a short period of time, much of which was complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, our community has made extraordinary progress within that short period, from establishing our presence in the eyes of the student body, to our landmark achievement in bringing a push button to the front doors of the Walker Building. Safe to say, I believe Access is here to stay.
My time as one of the leaders in this movement may have been the shortest, but also the most rewarding out of all my other Emerson experiences. In spite of the pandemic separating us and putting many activities to a halt, the organization has never had a stronger resolve, continuing our mission while showcasing resilience and adaptability. Many members of our community, myself included, may have faced doubt in their lives from relatives and peers, but in our work within Access alone, we have exceeded all expectations and showed our doubters that they were wrong, and we are now on the path to helping make our world a more accessible one.
I myself have seen personal growth, simply by listening to other people’s stories, struggles, and seeing their responses to mine. I admit I was naive in the beginning, envisioning Access to be specifically based on neurodiversity. It was Harper who pulled my head out of that narrow-minded mindset, because accessibility is everyone’s fight, whether their disabilities are visible or invisible. One person’s accessibility is everyone’s accessibility.
I may have been insecure, thinking I had no sense of community at Emerson, and that no one cared about what I had to say. The Access community proved me wrong. Here I had a sense of belonging, and a sense of caring. Hearing the stories of our members opened my eyes to the larger view of life beyond myself, and I think that by opening my eyes to them, this opened their eyes to me.
I grew up unsure of how to accept my identity as a man with Aspergers, as a disabled man. Because of Access, I now fully embrace that identity, and I realize that if it had not for my disability, I would not be the Zach Swasta who exists today. I will never speak for another disabled person, but I do not seek to cure myself, make myself like everyone else. I see my disability as a unique trait just as any eye color or hair color. That is why I want to see a more accessible world for all disabilities: we do not exist to make ourselves blend in with the crowd, we want to see paths to let us walk alongside the crowd. To accept diversity in our bodies and minds, just as with racial and gender diversity, is to accept that humans are not made from stone. We exist in all different flavors, if you will, and not one person is the same as the other.
I wish I had more time to continue this journey with Access, but I will continue to support from beyond the college. I now have the foundations to move forward with these advocacy efforts, and am hereby establishing the Access Alumni Association (or “Triple A”), to serve as a union from alumni of Access, as well as other Emerson alum who never had the opportunity as students themselves, who will continue the mission as one united companionship. After all, these are issues existing beyond our campus, and our efforts do not end at graduation.
I know that Access: SDU is in good hands, and is on the path of greatness. There is no better leader to continue its growth and development than Harper, my Co-Founder and Co-President. If it wasn’t for her, Access would have remained a nameless idea that would have been nothing more than a few-day consideration. Her endless efforts are the real driving force behind Access’ success thus far and will be for the future. She and I have been the defining “two sides, same coin” partnership, both bringing two different, unique perspectives to the organization’s setup, and together we really made it work. I may describe myself as the most idealistic of the two, but she was the one who really set the ideals in motion. Words cannot describe the gratitude I have for Harper’s help and leadership, what she has given Access and what she has given me. What’s more, she is surrounded by equally intelligent individuals who were also there in the early days, helping us find our identity as an organization.
Harper, Shruti, Dylan, and Greyson will make for an unbreakable leadership, and I will sleep well at night knowing that because of their continuing efforts, Access will thrive and prosper, guaranteed to last for decades to come. I look forward to cheering them on from afar, as well as their successors in the following years.
Until then, I want to thank everyone who has supported Access: Student Disability, from SGA, to SAS, to the Berkeley Beacon, and of course, our new E-board members. Thank you all for giving me a sendoff from my 18-year educational journey that I’ll never forget.
Keep up the good fight,
Zachary D. Swasta
Founding Member and Co-President, Access: Student Disability Union